Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
The nation of Japan, at least the magical side of it, was in an uproar. The results of the first-ever National-level Magic High School Entrance Examination had arrived and the results were shocking, to say the least.
Of the ten thousand young magician hopefuls that had applied for the examination, only eighteen hundred of them would be selected into the various Magic High Schools that had been constructed across the nation. (Due to the fact that it was the first year since the establishment of Magic High Schools, every one of them had been permitted to allow two hundred new students instead of the one hundred that would be the norm from the next year.) Due to the fact that a large number of children belonging to the numbered families were applying for the exams, almost every person associated with the proceedings knew that the children of the Ten Master Clans and the other Numbered clans would dominate the results.
For the most part, this was true. Of the top 100 students whose names were made public by the National Magic University, ninety-nine out of the hundred had connections to the Ten Master Clans or The Eighteen Houses. However, the problem lay within that one person.
Shiba Tatsuya was a name that no one really knew existed before the results were out. However, the name became a household one across the Magician community of Japan overnight. After all, in the theory portion of the Entrance exams, the boy scored a mind-blowing average of one hundred marks in all the subjects. The second highest score was Yotsuba Miya's average of 90 marks. Given the fact that the heiress of the Yotsuba was well-known as a genius of unfathomable proportions, various factions across the nation were running around to gather information on the unknown genius.
The technical portion of the exams was much less interesting to scrutinize since the top position was a thirty-way tie with Shiba Tatsuya, Yotsuba Maya, Yotsuba Miya, and Saegusa Koichi, etc… being a few of the notable names in the list, all with a perfect score of one hundred. The National Magic University made a public statement that the CADs used for the examination were inadequate compared to the devices used by many of the children and that the practical results were a bit skewed as a result.
As such, with a perfect score of two hundred, Shiba Tatsuya took the first rank in the nation.
Naturally, a lot of suspicion had been raised from multiple sources on the legitimacy of the results. The concept that a child not from any of the big clans managed to beat children from such clans appeared to be incomprehensible to many people.
This was the main reason why Tatsuya was currently sitting in front of a panel of six people who were tasked with interviewing him.
"Shiba-kun, did you know why we have summoned you here?" The person asking the question was a middle-aged man wearing a blue dress suit.
"I presume it is to address the concern about me cheating in the Magic High Entrance Exams, is it not?" Tatsuya was polite.
"Fret not, Shiba-kun. This entire meeting is nothing more than a formality anyway. We at the University are more than aware that it would be literally impossible for anyone to cheat in the exams with how strictly the exams were held." Takeshi Nakamura was the chairman of the National Magic University. He had received the position after the University's status had been raised into a statutory body due to the fact that he was a reasonably good magician with requisite experience in management and more importantly, the fact that he was wholly unaffiliated with any of the big magic clans. Imagine his surprise when an unaffiliated boy took first place in an exam that tested some of the best members of the new generation of the big clans.
"For the sake of formality, we would like to ask you a few questions." Sayuri Yamamoto, who was a part of the University's managing body, said.
"Of course. I am more than willing to answer any questions within my capabilities." Tatsuya replied.
"Well then, please tell us the main reason why it is not possible to actualize a Flying-type spell," Takeshi said.
"The main reason is the fact that in order to utilize a Flying spell, a magician would need to activate a new Magic Sequence every time they have to change the speed or height of the motion. Due to the fact that a magician cannot separate their Phenomenon rewriting abilities into more than ten segments at any given point in time, ten Magic Sequences are the maximum that they could hope to achieve in a single moment. This makes actual Flying-magic, where velocity needs to be changed continuously, impossible to utilize." Although the Three Great Puzzles of Weight Systematic Magic was considered to be common knowledge for every budding magician in Tatsuya's time period, in the current era, it was an obscure topic that only the academicians knew. Although the topic had been in the syllabus for the Theory Exams, it only touched upon what these three puzzles were and not the problems with their viability. Of course, the information that Tatsuya had just provided was available online in the public website of the National Magic University and as such, there wasn't any issue with him knowing it.
"That is perfectly explained. I don't think any one of us thinks that further questioning is necessary. You will not face any troubles from our end but you should be careful of the media." Sayuri said as the remaining people in the room just nodded in agreement. Tatsuya was soon excused from the room.
"Tatsuya, how did it go?" Tatsumi was the one who had come with Tatsuya for the meeting. Although Mayuri was adamant about going with him, he had specifically requested her to stay home since she had the least self-control in the family.
"There was no problem. They said that I can join First High as soon as the admissions open." Tatsuya replied.
"Still, to think that someone would even accuse you of cheating. If some kid from the Ten Master Clans had gotten similar results, none of them would even bat an eye." Tatsumi said with a hint of distaste in his voice.
"We can't really blame them. After all, the feeling of elitism held by the clans is not wholly unwarranted." Tatsuya said.
"Sometimes I wonder whether you really are sixteen. How are you so mature?" Tatsumi asked, half-jokingly.
"I do not believe that I am that mature". Tatsuya replied.
"Let's just go home". Tatsumi said.
A month had passed since and spring had finally arrived. With it, the curtains to Tatsuya's second take at Magic High School finally arrived. He was currently waiting in the backstage of First High's Auditorium, waiting for the principal to finish his speech and introduce him to make the Freshman Representative Speech. How did it get to this, you ask?
*Flashback*
Tatsuya was sitting in front of the newly appointed principal of First High, Kasugikawa Kotarou alongside his father.
"Since all the documents are in order, welcome to First High, Shiba Tatsuya-kun." Kotarou was an elderly man in his sixties. As someone considered to be one of the most influential figures in the National Magic University, his position as the Principal of First High appeared to be a downgrade at first sight. However, he had personally requested the position since he wanted to retire in his hometown of Tokyo.
"However, I would like to speak with Shiba-kun, alone for a moment." The principal said. Tatsmi, realizing that it was probably a matter of the school, excused himself from the room.
"I'll get straight to the point, Shiba Tatsuya-kun. I would like you to be the Freshman representative at First High, as well as be the President for the Student Council. The University has asked us to pick the best among the applicants and you are the best among all of them." Kotarou spoke. "Of course, the position is new and does not have much power as of now due to the limited student body but that will change once new students join in the subsequent years." He spoke.
"I do not have any problem with this". Tatsuya said.
"Good. Then you will be required to make a speech at the opening ceremony two weeks from now. With that sorted, you can leave. The details about the student council can be discussed after school starts." Kotarou said.
"I would like to end my words as I welcome this year's freshman representative to the stage to have a few words with you." Tatsuya heard Kotarou say. This was his cue as he made his way to the stage to decent applause and took the podium.
"As the sunlight streams gently and the vivid cherry blossoms flutter on this gorgeous spring day, I feel elated that my wish to join the prestigious National Magic University Affiliated First High School has come true. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you as the representative of the incoming students." Tatsuya was not someone who had any issues with speaking in public. After all, he had served as the Student Council President in both Middle School and Junior high in his previous life. He finished the speech shortly afterward and was met with solid applause.
Due to the fact that it was only the first day, there were no classes. However, Tatsuya had to stay behind even as most of his classmates left as he had been asked to go to the principal's office.
As he entered the office, he came face to face with two familiar faces.
"Hello, Tatsuya-kun. I heard your speech and I'll give it a solid six out of ten." Maya was a bundle of energy as always. She almost jumped from her seat to greet him. Compared to her, Miya only gave a slight nod of acknowledgment in his direction.
"Oh! You guys know each other?" Kotarou asked.
"Yes. We took the Practical test from the same center." Tatsuya replied.
"Good. I suppose I should get to the matter. As I have already told him, Shiba will take charge as the Student Council President. However, that is not the only position that needs filling. Therefore, I would like to ask you two to take charge as the Disciplinary Committee Chairman and Club Committee Chairman respectively." Kotarou said to Maya and Miya.
"Sensei, what does the Disciplinary Committee do?" Maya asked.
"As the name suggests, you will be in charge of keeping the peace between the students. The majority of work will come after new students join the next year but we have been asked to prepare a framework in advance for it. As for the Club Committee, you will be in charge of handling the clubs that will be formed including budget allocation. The University has informed us they will be holding various competitions for clubs from Magic High Schools." Kotarou said.
"What about the other members?" Tatsuya asked.
"The teachers will recommend the remainder of the members based on compatibility. The Student Council only requires three members for now including a Vice-President and a Secretary. We will inform you about our choices tomorrow."
"Very well, we accept". Miya said.
"Hey! But you didn't ask me?!" Maya protested.
"It is a good thing for you". Miya replied.
"Tatsuya-kun, can we go together?" As soon as he walked out of the principal's office, Tatsuya was greeted by an enthusiastic Maya. Although he wanted to refuse, he decided against it.
"Sure." He replied.
"Yay. Did I tell you how surprised we were when we saw that you had beaten Onee-chan in the written exams?" Maya said.
"Was it that surprising?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yes. Onee-chan is said to be a once-in-a-lifetime genius you know? The fact that she came second was shocking." Maya said animatedly. Miya was silently walking alongside them without speaking.
Although not many people knew this, Miya was the one who taught Tatsuya about the basics of being a Magic Engineer. Although his mother/mistress never bothered to tell him why she went through the troubles of teaching something to him herself, he had assumed that it was for him to tune Miyuki's CADs in the future. However, he had ended up surpassing her abilities in CAD Engineering when he was ten. However, that was a Miya who was never able to fully utilize her potential as a Magic Engineer due to the circumstances. Perhaps the one in front of him could provide some actual competition to him, he hoped.
Tatsuya accompanied the twins to the outside of the school where a black limousine was waiting for them. Hayama was standing in front of the door waiting for the twins. Before Tatsuya could say goodbye to the twins, the door was opened, and a woman who looked like a thirty-year-old version of Maya walked out.
Yotsuba Yasuyou was someone that Tatsuya had only heard about once or twice in his previous life. The former Yotsuba matriarch was one of the fighters who had given her life in the attack of Dahan in his previous life. The only information he had on her stated that she was a proficient user of Mental Interference Magic, even by Yotsuba Standards.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you look exactly like my husband?" Yasuyo said jokingly.
"If you are speaking about Yotsuba Genzou-dono, I have never had the opportunity to meet him in person. Therefore, I cannot answer that question." Tatsuya replied.
"You even have the speech down." She laughed. "If it wasn't for the fact that I am one hundred percent sure that you aren't a part of our family, I would have murdered my husband by now." She spoke.
"I am not sure how I am supposed to respond to that. Although I presume you ran a DNA test on me." The fact that the original body had gone unnoticed despite looking like Yotsuba Genzou in the first place was more surprising to Tatsuya.
"Maya was very vocal about how Genzou cheated on me". Yasuyo said. Maya looked sheepish. "We had to make sure."
Tatsuya spoke to the Yotsuba Matriarch a bit more before she offered him a ride which he accepted. The entire ride was him entertaining a jovial Maya while the other two watched in silence.
That's it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next one will have a POV change to the Yotsubas and their reaction to the entire fiasco.
Thanks as always for the reviews and follows and I'll see you soon.
PS: The chapter got delayed because my dumb ass was focused on Shiny hunting Pokemon in Legends Arceus after I randomly found a shiny Alpha Lopunny. I did manage to get like forty shinies in three days tho.